Image: Kev Seto | Unsplash

In the next decade or two, we are going to see an unprecedented number of churches close their doors.

Unprecedented for North Americans churches, that is.

We know this is coming because we’ve already seen it happen in Europe. Many of their historic church buildings are as ...

Image: Noah Silliman | https://unsplash.com/photos/gzhyKEo_cbU

Breaking the 200 barrier.

I wonder if any subject has received more attention in the last generation of church leadership training.

In some ways, it makes sense to spend so much time talking about it. After all, there is a fundamental shift that must take place when a church reaches ...

Image: Amos Bar-Zeev | Unsplash

Recently I heard a pastor say two words that hit me like a punch to the gut.

I was watching him in a short online video teaching clip, when he referenced an article he’d read on a blog a couple years ago.

Before talking about the content of the article, he off-handedly quipped, ...

Image: rawpixel | Unsplash

Preaching is one of the most important responsibilities of the pastor in a small church context.

It’s important, not just because it is the most visible function of a pastor, but because it is one of the primary tools for discipleship.

As pastors, our primary job is making ...

Image: Nycholas Benaia | Unsplash

We are living more of our lives online than ever before. And our online time will increase for some time before it levels off.

While there are certainly a lot of downsides to this, there are also huge upsides that every church can take advantage of. With people spending an average ...

Image: Vince Fleming | Unsplash

It’s easy to criticize today’s worship music. Too easy.

“It’s repetitive!” “It’s too loud!” “It’s theologically shallow!” “And it’s repetitive!”

Similar criticisms have been made for every generation ...

Image: Ben White | Unsplash

One of the greatest challenges of pastoring is coming up with something fresh to say to the same people week after week.

As a pastor, I’ve been preaching for over 30 years. Over 4,000 messages. For many years I would regularly run out of things to say – or, more accurately, ...

Image: Mimi Thian | Unsplash

Good leaders have strong opinions.

And they should.

But our decisions should be guided by the mission, not by our opinions.

This is especially true in church leadership. The importance of Christ’s mission should be communicated in everything we do and say. Including in subtle ...

Image: Hannah Busing | Unsplash

Small companies are fueled by passion, innovation and risk-taking. Small churches should be, too.

As companies get bigger, passion is often replaced by profits, innovation by budgets, and creativity by quality control. Big companies tend to take fewer risks because they have ...